Paul emile legrand



No. 607,754. Patented July l9, I898. P. E. LEGBAND.

RAILWAY SIGNAL ALARM.

(Application filed Mar. 25, 1897.) (No Model.)

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Nrrnn STATES PAUL EMILE LEGRAND, OF PAU, FRANCE.

RAILWAY SIGNAL-ALARM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 607,754, dated July 19,1898.

Application filed March 25, 1897.

To all whom, zit may concern.-

Be it known that 1, PAUL EMILE LEGRAND, a citizen of the FrenchRepublic, residing at Pan, France, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Railway Signal- Alarms; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

This invention relates to a system of alarmsignals designed to preventcollisions of trains; and the means employed for this purpose consist inone or several levers moved from a distance either mechanically orelectrically, so as to place on the rails at any distant point anexploding signal-cartridge.

The invention further consists in providing one or more rockets whichmay be thrown in connection with the motion of the levers.

The use of exploding cartridges on rails is known; but generally thesecartridges are placed by hand, which operation presents seriousinconveniences. The person employed to perform this work very oftenarrives too late at the place where the cartridges should be set, eitheron account of the great distance to be covered, inclement weather, orthrough gross negligence in the discharge of his duty. It is also quitefrequently the case that considerable difficulty is experienced insecuring the cartridges on the rail.

' In the alarm system forming the object of my invention levers are usedto place the cartridges and to throw rockets in a district of sufficientran ge,in which the collision of trains can be prevented with securityand advantage. From a certain point of survey, which may be awatch-tower, sentry-box, 850., situated at any convenient point on theroad or in or near the depot, levers placed at any distance on the roadare acted upon mechanically or electrically, said levers carrying attheir ends cartridges, which after the motion of said levers remainsecured to the rails. The operator may, at the same time while operatingthe levers, cause one or several rockets to be thrown, which are placednear at hand or which may be placed at a distance from this post, inwhich event the throwing is also effected mechanically or electricallyby the motion of the levers.

Serial No- 6Z9,259. (No model.)

cartridges, the latter being secured to the lever by a slight connectiononly, of any con venient means, so as to be detached automatically andeasily from the lever when the same is moved back again. The lever B isoperated from a distance by means of a cable or chain guidedoversuitable pulleys and connected to a hand-lever D, which is placedinthe station or at the post of the operator. By turning said lever D thelever B will move down upon the rail, so that the cartridges A, securedin the clamps 0, will come in contact with the top of the rail, and bythe impetus thus received the clamps will open and grasp the head of therail, so as to securely retain the cartridges. When the lever isreturned to its original position, the cartridges with the clamps willnot follow if, for instance, a flexible blade a, forming part of theclamps, is simply inserted in a slot in the lever.

I propose to employ several cartridges placed side by side, in order toinsure a successful operation in case any one of the car- .tridgesproves defective.

It is evident that in employing vertical levers flat cartridges may beused without the clamping devices, which would thus be held in positionon the rails until the train had passed the place where the said leverremains in its lowest position. This mode of application of the systemwould be preferable in cases where difliculties are met with in theemployment of cartridges with clamps.

In,conneetion with the lever system just described I may also employ oneor several rockets, which are thrown simultaneously with the motion ofthe levers. This gives an abundance of security and serves to avertdanger when the train has entered the zone of protection before thelevers could be operated. These rockets are well known in the trade, andtherefore need not be described here. They are not claimed by theinventor as an article of manufacture, but only in their application forthe attainment of the object ent colors can easily be heard and seenfrom a distance.

The zone or territory for the signaling may be varied at will--say, forinstance, four miles-and in the middle the surveying-posts would beplaced. At each end of the post a lever for the cartridges would beinstalled; but at intermediate places between the limit of the zone andthe center of the post of survey levers may be used to be manipulatedeither separately or in conjunction with the first-namedlevers, so thatthe cables or chains connect them all and that one manipulation at thestation is suflicient to operate all the levers simultaneously.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In an alarm-signalapparatus, a lever I placed at a distance from a station on the road,connected by suitable means with a lever in the station and adapted tobe moved thereby, said lever on the road provided with 1 means toloosely receive cartridges or torpedoes firmly secured in clamps, whichare set forth.

, 2. In a railway signal-alarm, the combination with amanipulating-lever at a terminal station, of one or more vertical leverson the road, connected by a chain or cable with said manipulating-leverand adapted to be operated thereby, said levers on the road providedwith cartridges loosely secured thereto in clamps, which are adapted tograsp the rail to hold the cartridges thereon, when said le vers arelowered and to detach themselves from the levers when they return totheir normal position, substantially as described and for the purposespecified.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' PAUL EMILE LEGRAND. WVitnesses:

JosEPH OoNTE, OOTAVE OMBY.

